The story of the Dutch colony at New Amsterdam, through the eyes of the young lad Peter. Relates its settlement by the West India Company under the leadership of Peter Minuit, their transactions with the Indians including the purchase of the island of Manhattan, their overthrow of the Swedish forts to the south, and their surrender to English forces in 1664. The portrait of the contrasting figures of Peter Minuit and Peter Stuyvesant enlivens the narrative. Numerous black and white illustrations complement the text. Ages 8-10

150 pages

$9.95

IN CHARGE OF THE GOODS

BEFORE the fort was finished, two of the gentlemen
traders came back, their chests emptied of beads, cloth,
and trinkets, but the boats piled high with furs of all
kinds, and I heard Master Minuit say that one such
cargo was worth more than all the grain that could be
raised in two years, by all the white men on the island.

The log house was taken for a storeroom, and Hans
set at work making a list of the furs, which was
anything rather than a pleasant task, for these skins were
[54] none of the sweetest or most cleanly, and the
Dutchman both looked and smelled very disagreeably.

While Hans was sweating over the furs in the log
house, I stayed in the great cabin of the Sea Mew,
refilling the chests with goods, and before the task was
finished, Master Minuit told me that I was to have
charge of all the things brought for trade with the
savages.

In other words, I was no longer to be body servant,
but a real store-keeper, which was more of a jump in
the world than I had even hoped to make for many a
long year to come.

The palisade of the fort was not yet wholly done,
when a dozen or more of the men were set about
build- [55] ing inside the fortification a log house, where the goods
were to be kept and where I was to find lodgings.

Kryn Gildersleeve, like the honest lad he was, gave
me joy because of my thus having become, as it were,
a real member of the Company; but Hans was angry,
believing if any of the servants were to be promoted,
it should have been himself, and I am told that he
declared I would not long be allowed to enjoy my high
station.

By the time the palisade had been built my house
was finished, and all the goods brought from the Sea
Mew, which gave me much of work to do, because my orders were to
unpack and store the difficult articles where I could bring
them out at a moment's notice.

You must not understand that Master Minuit had entrusted to me the
trading. That portion of the work was for himself and the gentlemen
who had come with him; but I was in charge of the goods, as Hans was
keeper of the furs, while Kryn alone waited upon the master as body servant.

When any of the savages came in from the village close by, or from far
away, to bargain for our toys, one of the gentlemen looked after him, and
I brought this thing or carried that according to orders, for the Indians
were not allowed to come inside the log house lest they might make
mischief. After the trading was
[56] at an end, Hans would be summoned to carry away
the furs.

If none of the other gentlemen were near at hand, it
was my duty to summon Master Minuit, when any of
the brown men came to the fort with such a burden
that I could understand he was eager to buy of our
goods.

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